US Seeks to Establish Nuclear Structures in Asia: Lavrov

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States and its allies of seeking to establish nuclear structures in Asia and the Pacific.

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During the meeting between Russia and the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which takes place in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, Lavrov noted that Washington and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intend to deploy nuclear infrastructure in allied countries that do not have nuclear weapons.

To concretize his accusations, the Russian diplomat pointed to the security pact made up of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States (AUKUS). Through this agreement, Australia will get a fleet of nuclear submarines, although without atomic weapons, from 2030.

Lavrov also mentioned that Japan and South Korea have condescended to Washington by allowing U.S. military bases located in their territories to contain nuclear weapons.

"Now, NATO is trying to move its military infrastructure to this region, including the countries that were invited to participate in the Madrid and Vilnius summits, namely Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. The latter two have sent signals that they wouldn't mind deploying US nuclear weapons or possessing their own," Lavrov said.

He discussed these issues with the diplomats of the ASEAN countries and with the head of Chinese diplomacy Wang Yi, with whom Lavrov held a bilateral meeting on Thursday.

On Friday, the Russian diplomat will share a table with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the East Asia Forum and the ASEAN Regional Forum.